The present invention relates to a facsimile apparatus, copier, printer or similar image forming apparatus of the type using a cleaner/toner magazine (CTM) which has a waste toner tank and a fresh toner tank formed integrally with each other and, more particularly, to a cleaning device for removing toner remaining on a photoconductive element included in the apparatus and collecting it.
An image forming apparatus of the kind described often uses a CTM replaceably mounted to the apparatus and having a waste toner tank and a fresh toner tank constructed integrally with each other. The waste toner tank accommodates a cleaning device for removing toner left on a photoconductive element after image transfer and collecting it. Usually, such a cleaning device has a cleaning blade contacting the surface of the photoconductive element at an edge thereof, and a brush rotatable in contact with the edge of the blade. The toner is removed by the edge of the cleaning blade and then raked off by the brush into a collection space defined in the waste toner tank. The cleaning device with such a blade and brush collects the toner removed by the blade in the collection space more efficiently than a cleaning device having only the blade.
The brush has to be slightly bent at all times in order to rake off the toner into the waste toner tank. Usually, the brush has the brush portion thereof adhered to a support member made of plastic by a two-sided adhesive tape. The adhesive tape, however, sequentially comes off due to thermal stresses attributable to a fixing device which is located in the vicinity of the brush. As a result, the support member fails to firmly support the brush portion, sequentially lowering the collecting ability of the brush.
For a conventional cleaning device implemented as a CTM, a reference may be made to, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 5-210339 and corresponding copending U.S. Ser. No. 08/010,876 filed Jan. 29, 1993.